FIFA criticised by MP Chris Bryant for allowing Russian delegates at congress

FIFA has been criticised for allowing Russian delegates to attend its annual congress in Qatar following the country’s ban from the World Cup due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Two senior Russian officials are scheduled to be at Thursday’s event but there will be no representative from the Ukrainian FA.

Ukraine will instead be represented by its ambassador to Qatar, while the Russian flag will be flown at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.

Chris Bryant MP, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Russia, told the Times: “I’m constantly mystified at sporting bodies who do not seem to watch the news, or take enough action if they do.

“They don’t seem to be able to isolate Russia in light of Putin’s appalling war crimes. We must isolate any Russian who wants to take part in world affairs until Russia withdraws.”

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston insists any individual athletes from Russia or Belarus wanting to take part in UK events must show they are ‘genuinely independent and neutral’ – with the assurance backed up by a written declaration.

Earlier this month, 37 countries joined together to make a collective call for further international sporting sanctions on Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine.

Brokered by the UK, the strongly-worded statement followed a virtual summit convened by Huddleston and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries on March 3, with France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States among the signatories.

At the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Russian athletes did not compete under their nation’s banner and instead represented the ROC (Russian Olympic Committee).

The International Paralympic Committee, though, later opted to ban both Russia and Belarus athletes from the